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Why call for protest in support of jawans is patently immature

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Sanjiv Krishan Sood
Sanjiv Krishan SoodMar 05, 2017 | 16:01

Why call for protest in support of jawans is patently immature

Being an ardent supporter of freedom of speech, I respect the right of the author of the DailyO article titled “Why don't we protest for soldiers begging to be treated like humans?” to express her views.

I, however, respectfully differ with what is implied by the title and content of the piece. In my view, such suggestions are tantamount to calling for revolt in the armed forces.

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There certainly may be some shortcomings in the “sahayak” system as practised in the armed forces. There may also be some quality-related issues with the rations and other equipment issued to jawans. But these cannot be generalised to make a case that everything is wrong with our armed forces.

That the personnel of 1.3 million strong military and almost one million strong central armed forces in general do not have any problem with the system is confirmed by the fact that there have only been rare instances when someone has had to publically air his grievances.

Some may argue that an important factor for above are the strong laws, rules and regulations governing the conduct of personnel of these forces. That is only partly true.

It is the robust grievance redress mechanism that exists in the defence and armed forces of the union like BSF, CRPF, ITBP etc ensures that most of the grievances of personnel are promptly resolved to their entire satisfaction.

The systems include formal methods like “Daily Roll calls “and “Sainik Sammelans” by Company and Battalion Commanders, and also the “Sainik Sammelans” by senior officers when visiting or inspecting units. Besides, the jawans also have many informal occasions to air their grievances to the commanders.

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That the jawans involved in the videos had a troubled past is a fact that should have been considered before passing a value judgment on health of the armed forces. Photo: Facebook

Occasions like “Barakhana” (feasts on special occasions) where everyone from officers to the junior most jawan eat the same food together, weekly gatherings and gathering on special occasions at “Sarvdharm Sthals” (common religious place for all religions) or Mandir, Gurudwara et al are great occasions for bonding between leaders and led.

Daily physical training activity in the morning and games in the evening — in which the troops and officers play together — are other occasions to further strengthen the bond.

Regimentation, especially in the infantry units of Army and the battalions of Central Armed Forces like BSF, ensures that leaders acquire intimate knowledge of not only the capabilities and limitations of each jawan, but also his family circumstances and background.

Regimentation also helps jawans develop confidence in the abilities of their commanders.

I remember my own induction in my first unit after completion of training.

Besides being mentored by my seniors, the experienced jawans, under officers and subordinate officers in my company were the ones who practically took me under their wings to educated me about the ethos of the force, and often gently guided me in arriving at an appropriate decision in various matters.

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They would brief me about the problems of jawans and suggest measures to resolve them.

It is to the credit, especially of the operational level leadership of these forces, that most of the grievances are redressed at the unit level. Only a miniscule percentage of grievances, which may relate to rules and regulations not within the powers of a unit commandant, may be escalated.

It is reiterated that the appearance of three or four videos levelling some allegations cannot be taken as representing the norm or gospel truth. The systems in general are in place; however, aberrations can happen, which the forces take seriously and urgently rectify.

Refusal of the media to research or dwell upon the other facet of the issue, that is, the past conduct of the personnel involved in airing their grievances through the social media gives the impression of a preconceived mindset.

In fact, the BSF got lot of adverse press when the authorities informed the media about controversial past of jawan concerned. That the jawans involved in the videos had a troubled past is a fact that should have been considered before passing a value judgment on health of the armed forces.

It has, perhaps, become fashionable to politicise the fair name of armed forces for scoring brownie points by vested interests.

The author, instead of advocating protests by common public, should have probed as to why only these three or four jawans displayed lack of confidence in the grievance redressal system, which is trusted by the rest of 2.3 million soldiers.

Perhaps, they need to invest more in research rather than resorting to Facebook and Twitter journalism and treating these as their primary source of information — a cause of deteriorating standards of reporting.

The calls for protests in support of jawans are patently immature and misplaced.

Last updated: March 05, 2017 | 18:26
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